by Michael Robinson | Uvalde Hesperian; Top Picture by Robinson
Utopia ISD school board trustees have approved a new 58 million dollar bond package to be put on the November 7th, 2023 ballot in addition to the State Of Texas Constitutional Amendment Election for voters to also consider and act upon.
According to the Utopia Bond Website, the $58 million will be used for construction of a new main building & demolition of the old main building, renovation of the old gym, building a new CTE facility and to fund other district-wide improvements. “If the voters approve the bond, there will be a 50-cent I&S tax rate increase. Below is a tax impact calculator that shows the average monthly costs based on home value,” the website states. However, residents over 65 years of age are eligible to apply for a homestead exemption to the Bond Tax.
Additional reasons for the bond cited on the website include implementing safety and security updates required by the State and constructing a CTE facility to provide students with real world experiences. The website also states the existing facilities are “aging” and no longer meet the State’s Standard.
Public meetings about the proposed Bond will be held on Thursday, September 28th at 6 PM at the Utopia Community Center, Friday, October 6th at 10:30 AM at the Utopia Senior Center and Sunday, October 22nd at 1:30 PM at the Utopia Community Center.
The Uvalde Hesperian reached out via email to Utopia School Superintendent Michael Derry, as well as Utopia ISD President Wayne Moore and Vice President Terry Snow and at time of this publication is still awaiting a response. The Hesperian did receive a return phone call from Superintendent Derry on Thursday, September 21st.
Not everyone is in favor of the new $58 million school bond and some have objections to it and also questions about it.
“They want to build a $30 million school in Utopia and have another 28 million just sitting around for future use. Why would we vote to have $28 million just sitting around for them to decide how they want to spend it in the future. If there are future needs, they can pass a future bond,” Utopia resident Sydney Hertenberger Killough asked.
“Also, why double the size of the school? Are there ulterior motives? The enrollment has been the same at least 30 years and I think much longer,” Killough said.
Another Utopia resident, Ben Taylor, posted this comment on the Utopia Community News Facebook Page: “Shouldn’t we stop discussing this school bond issue in a vacuum? Those attempting to reduce more governmental debt and taxation are simply embracing logic and common sense. It is at the very least rather presumptuous for anyone to suggest that all we (those against more public debt) need is “re-education” tours to convince us that more debt and taxation is in our best interest. Spending and public debt, whether on a “whim” or supposedly “well-thought-out” by some school administrator still has the same end result. That result is to enslave us all to ever-increasing public debt and from the beginning Non-Constitutional property taxation.
My personal disappointment is that “public officials” (and the American People in general) never seem to know where to draw the line on so-called “public” spending. Federal and state governments are pretty much a lost cause, but we must start somewhere and the local level is the best, if not the only, place to make a difference.
The primary excuse for passing this bond proposal I see here is, “let’s do this for the children”. Haven’t we heard that worn out phrase before? Public education has done an amazing job of “educating” America’s children-wouldn’t we all agree?. (BTW. That’s sarcasm.) The Utopia school used to be an exception, but seems to be going in the same direction as most American schools. But this is the inevitable pattern of government-controlled and mandated “public education/indoctrination” which has been an unmitigated disaster for this country for many decades.”
